Conversation game

ABSTRACT

A hand-held sign is provided. The sign has a handle portion and a second indicia-displaying portion. The indicia may be used to promote individual or group comments, or may be used as a pick-up line. The sign may have a dual purpose, such as use as a coaster.

RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/455,621, filed Mar. 18, 2003 andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/510,756, filed Oct. 13, 2003,which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to games such as table gamesparticipated in by individuals or groups of individuals and moreparticularly to such a game or activity device designed to promoteindividual or group comments or reactions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention comprises one or more of the followingfeatures or elements in the appended claims or combinations thereof. Aconversation game comprising a plurality of hand-held signs is provided.Each sign has a handle portion and a second, generally larger portionfor displaying indicia selected to promote individual or group comments,actions or reactions. These signs which may be in the shape of paddlesand often referred to hereinafter as paddles are configured to have afront panel and a rear panel for displaying such indicia. It iscontemplated that a group such as a family sitting around a table oraround a discussion center of some type will have a plurality of thesesigns available for use to stimulate conversation, slow downconversation or create comments, actions or reactions from members ofthe group. Some of the various types of indicia that may be provided onthe signs will be provided in more detail hereinafter. The signs orpaddles may be designed to promote individual or group comments, actionsor reactions.

[0004] In some cases, each sign or paddle will be constructed to berelatively thin and double-sided to have a front panel and a rear panelfor displaying such indicia. The handle portion and the larger portionon which the indicia are printed or otherwise formed may be of the samethickness such that the plurality of signs is stackable to a compactstack for storage and use. Each sign handle portion may be defined by anaxis which bisects the sign's larger portion, the larger portion beinggenerally symmetrical about the handle axis. It will be apparent thatthe shapes of the larger portions and, for that matter, the shapes ofthe handles may vary for different lines of product. Generally speaking,the concept is to have small hand-held signs which can be easily storedaway and then brought to a table or other discussion area for use bymembers of the group.

[0005] In some cases, the signs may be made relatively smaller in sizeand have a retainer penetrating through the handle portions of theplurality of signs such that the signs are loosely assembled togetherfor selective display of individual signs. Thus, a young lady may carryan assembly of these signs in her purse for use in conversation with herfriends or for passing messages to her peers as she sits in class. Thekit which is a part of the present invention may include a sheet orother supply of peel-off indicia means, each representing a particularcomment or thought, with each indicia means being attachable to thelarger portion of one of the signs to personalize the signs assembledtogether on the retainer. It is within the scope of the presentinvention to have a plurality of peel-off or other detachable, perhapsadhesively backed, indicia to place on individual signs, even thosewhich are not retained together in an assembly.

[0006] The retainer may be a ring and each handle portion may be formedwith an opening through which the retainer ring extends. The ring mayhave a cross-sectional diameter smaller than the opening through whichit extends so that the signs will be loosely held together for ease ofuse. It will be appreciated that other retainers such as key chains orthe like may be used to hold signs in a loosely assembled fashion.

[0007] Thus, there is provided a plurality of hand-held paddles orsigns, each having a hand-grip portion and a generally larger portionextending axially away from the hand-grip portion. The larger portion isillustratively symmetrical about an axis bisecting the larger portionand the hand-grip portion. The larger portion and hand-grip portion mayhave the same thickness such that the plurality of paddles or signs canbe compactly stackable for use or storage. Each larger portion will havea front side and a rear side with indicia selected to promote individualor group comments, actions or reactions. As indicated above, theseindicia may be printed in permanent fashion on the front sides and rearsides of the paddles and other indicia may be made such that it can betemporarily or even permanently attached to the front side or rear sideof a paddle. In some cases, a kit will include a plurality of indiciafor selective application to the paddle.

[0008] The present invention, therefore, may comprise a kit for theassembly of personalized signs or paddles for use as a conversation gamewith indicia means provided for selective application to the paddles. Insome cases, the kits will include retainers for holding the hand-heldsigns or paddles into a loose assembly for use in that fashion. Thesigns may be provided having various sizes and shapes as well as variousthicknesses. It is contemplated that, in some cases, the signs will besized so that they can be carried around in a purse or other suchcontainer for use away from home. In other cases, the signs will bepackaged so that they can be stored away and then pulled out and used ina family or other group setting to promote conversation and, in somecases, even more orderly conversation amongst the group.

[0009] In the drawings:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sign or paddle displaying “AM INEXT?” as indicia;

[0011]FIG. 2 is an elevation view showing a sign or paddle displaying“MAY I TALK” as indicia;

[0012]FIG. 3. is an elevation view showing a sign or paddle displaying“PAY ATTENTION” as indicia;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a plurality of small signs orpaddles loosely held together by a retainer ring and indicating that“HE'S A HOTTIE” or some other such indicia which may be adhesively orotherwise attached to a sign or paddle;

[0014]FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a sheet of peel-off indicia thatmay be applied to signs or paddles; and

[0015]FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a box or container to indicatethat the present invention may be provided as a kit.

[0016] Referring specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that agame or a kit providing a game is illustrated to include a plurality ofhand-held signs or paddles 10. Each sign 10 in the plurality of signswill have a handle portion 12 and a generally larger portion 14 fordisplaying indicia selected to promote individual or group comments,actions or reactions. It should be understood that as used herein,“larger portion” is illustrated as having larger dimensions than handleportion 12, however, it is within the scope of the disclosure to use aportion 14 having any set of dimensions relative to handle portion 12.The illustrative signs 10 are relatively thin as indicated at 32 in FIG.1 and double-sided to have a front panel and a rear panel for displayingsuch indicia. By “relatively thin,” it is meant that the signs are madesuch that they can be relatively thin as compared to their length andwidth. For example, for some materials, a sign may be only 0.125 inchthick. It will be appreciated that, depending upon the materials and theapplication, such signs may be as thick as 0.25 inch thick or thicker.Essentially, by “relatively thin” it is intended to mean that a sign 10has a thickness which is substantially only a small portion of itslength or width.

[0017] While such signs may typically be formed of relatively stiffplastic, it will be appreciated that individual signs may be fabricatedfrom a variety of materials utilizing a variety of fabricationtechniques. Signs, for example, may be stamped from a sheet plasticmaterial or other sheet material using a steel-rule die contoured toprovide the desired shape of the paddle. The illustrative signs 10 canbe manufactured of any material suitable to form a handle that cansupport a second, indicia-displaying portion. For example, the signs 10may be manufactured of a cork, pressboard, cardboard, plastic, wood,composite, or other material. Some materials, such as cork, pressboard,or cardboard, may be useful in a restaurant or bar atmosphere as acoaster, thereby providing a dual purpose for sign 10. The sign 10 maybe used to display a pick-up line.

[0018] In some embodiments, the signs will typically have a generallyrectangular larger portion 14 for displaying indicia and a centrallylocated or axially located handle portion 12 for gripping. The axis 16of paddle 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. It is contemplated that theindicia or wording will be printed or otherwise placed on the front sideor rear side of the enlarged portion 14 of each paddle 10. Typically,the indicia will be printed, screened, stenciled or otherwise applied tothe surface of the paddle 10. In some cases, the indicia will beadhesively attached to the surface of the paddle 10.

[0019] A typical table-use set of paddles will have each paddle havingan enlarged portion 14 such as 6 inches wide and 4 inches tall (orlength). It will be appreciated that these dimensions are illustrativeand larger or smaller paddles 10 may be provided. The handle 12 whichextends downwardly from the central portion of the enlarged portion 14and illustratively on the axis of the paddle 10 may have a dimensionsuch as 4.5 inches long and 1.5 inches wide. As illustrated, the cornersof the paddles may be curved for comfort and convenience such asindicated at 30 in FIG. 3.

[0020] A plurality of such paddles 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1-3 may bestacked together in a compact stack for storage and use. A group of 6 to12 or more of such paddles 10 may comprise a kit for use in a groupconversation activity. The paddles 10, of course, will provide messagesor comments for use by a person acting as a moderator in a discussiongroup. For example, a parent in a family discussion may have the stackof paddles 10 ready to use as required. Members of the group may reachover to pick up a paddle 10 to express his or her preference, comment orrequest.

[0021] As suggested in FIG. 4, a plurality of such paddles 100 may beassembled together and loosely retained by a retainer such as the ring140 which extends through holes 142 in the handle portion 112. Theillustratively handles 112 may have a centrally located hole 142 with adiameter larger than the cross-sectional diameter of retainer ring 140as illustrated in FIG. 4. A plurality of paddles 100 may thus beassembled together and used simply by selecting which paddle containsthe appropriate indicia for the occasion.

[0022] The present invention contemplates that a plurality of suchpaddles 10, 100 may be assembled in a kit 148 to be used as desired. Akit 148 may comprise, for example, a plurality of such paddles 10, 100,each of which may have a hole 142 in the handle portion 12, 112, and aretainer ring 140. The kit may comprise a plurality of individualindicia such as a sheet 150 of peel-off comments or remarks 152 to beplaced on the panels 100 as suggested by dashed lines 154 in FIG. 4. Insome embodiments, each paddle 100 will be somewhat smaller thandiscussed above in connection with FIGS. 1-3. For example, paddles 100shown in FIG. 4 may be smaller such that a plurality of the paddles maybe held together by a retainer 140 and held in a purse. Eachillustrative paddle 100 may have a portion 114 width of 3{fraction(3/16)} inches, a portion 114 length or height of 2 inches, a handle 112length of 2 inches, and a handle 112 width of 1{fraction (1/16)} inches.Other dimensions, of course, are contemplated by the present invention.It is contemplated that such a set of paddles 100 may be personalized bythe user from the supply of peel-off indicia 150 such as illustrated inFIG. 5. It will be appreciated that such indicia may be adhesively orotherwise attached to the paddles 100, either the larger paddles shownin FIGS. 1-3 or the smaller ring-assembled sign shown in FIG. 4. Ofcourse, the assembly suggested in FIG. 4 with the plurality of paddlesheld together by a retainer ring may be printed, stenciled or screenedin the factory and thus supplied pre-labeled or pre-printed.

[0023] The sheet 150 may include blank stickers or other attachmentswhich may be personalized. Some indicia may be words, phrases ordesigns.

1. A conversation game comprising a plurality of hand-held signs, eachsign having a handle portion and a second portion for displaying indiciaselected to promote individual or group comments, actions or reactions.2. The invention of claim 1 in which each sign is relatively thin anddouble-sided to have a front panel and a rear panel for displaying suchindicia.
 3. The invention of claim 2 in which the handle portion andsecond portion are of the same thickness such that the plurality ofsigns is stackable to a compact stack for storage and use.
 4. Theinvention of claim 3 in which each sign handle portion defines an axiswhich bisects the sign's second portion, the second portion beinggenerally symmetrical about the axis.
 5. The invention of claim 1comprising a retainer penetrating through the handle portions of theplurality of signs such that the signs are loosely assembled togetherfor selective display of individual signs.
 6. The invention of claim 5including a plurality of indicia means, each representing a particularcomment or thought, each indicia means being attachable to the secondportion of one of the signs to personalize the signs assembled together.7. The invention of claim 6 in which the retainer is a ring, and inwhich each handle portion is formed with an opening through which thering extends, the ring having a cross-sectional diameter smaller thanthe opening through each handle portion.
 8. The invention of claim 7 inwhich each sign is relatively thin and double-sided to have a frontpanel and a rear panel for displaying such indicia.
 9. The invention ofclaim 8 in which each sign handle portion defines an axis which bisectsthe sign's second portion, the second portion being generallysymmetrical about the axis.
 10. The invention of claim 1, wherein thesecond portion is larger than the handle portion.
 11. The invention ofclaim 1, further comprising a kit for the plurality of signs.
 12. Aplurality of hand-held paddles, each having a hand-grip portion and alarger portion extending axially away from the hand-grip portion, thelarger portion being symmetrical about an axis bisecting the largerportion and hand-grip portion, the larger portion and hand-grip portionhaving generally the same thickness such that the plurality of paddlesare compactly stackable for use and storage, each larger portion havinga front side and a rear side with indicia selected to promote individualor group comments, actions or reactions.
 13. The invention of claim 12,further comprising a kit for the plurality of signs.
 14. The inventionof claim 12, further comprising a retainer for holding the plurality ofsigns in a loosely assembled fashion.
 15. The invention of claim 12,further comprising a quantity of indicia means, each of which isconfigured to be applied to the larger portion of one of the signs. 16.The invention of claim 15 comprising a kit for the plurality of signs,the retainer, and a quantity of indicia means each of which isconfigured to be applied to the larger portion of one of the signs.